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The October Circle
An explosive story of friendship and sacrifice in the depths of the Cold War era
Connoisseurs of the literary spy thriller rank Robert Littell, the bestselling author of The Company , with John le Carré, Graham Greene, and Alan Furst in the first tier of the genre's pantheon. Set against the backdrop of the Russian invasion of Prague, The October Circle is one of Littell's most riveting early works. Seven of Bulgaria's cultural elite-all disillusioned communists-and one American drifter find themselves staging an extremely dangerous protest that will set off a wave of repression and threatens to repay their heroism with death.
Connoisseurs of the literary spy thriller rank Robert Littell, the bestselling author of The Company , with John le Carré, Graham Greene, and Alan Furst in the first tier of the genre's pantheon. Set against the backdrop of the Russian invasion of Prague, The October Circle is one of Littell's most riveting early works. Seven of Bulgaria's cultural elite-all disillusioned communists-and one American drifter find themselves staging an extremely dangerous protest that will set off a wave of repression and threatens to repay their heroism with death.
208 pages, Paperback
First published January 12, 1975
17 people are currently reading
122 people want to read
About the author
Robert Littell
45 books438 followersAn American author residing in France. He specializes in spy novels that often concern the CIA and the Soviet Union. He became a journalist and worked many years for Newsweek during the Cold War. He's also an amateur mountain climber and is the father of award-winning novelist Jonathan Littell.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
May 2, 2018
I trudged through the first half of this book. Thankfully, some of the comments here on Goodreads inspired me to press on to the end. The second half of the book was very powerful and moving. It was a great testimony to the human spirit to stand up against tyranny.
I would like to read more books by this author.
I would like to read more books by this author.
May 3, 2024
Apparently Littell is known as a writer of spy novels, and the blurb on the back of the book implies that this is a spy novel, but it's not.
Instead, it's a really good story about what happens when a group of friends, all more or less Bulgarian national celebrities, and most of whom were partisans fighting the Nazis in World War II, decide to protest the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968.
I was expecting some sort of secret offensive against the Soviet Army, with code words and midnight rendezvous (rendezvoux?), but instead I got a very serious literary work about the dangers of bucking the Soviet (and Warsaw Pact) system. And I enjoyed it immensely.
Instead, it's a really good story about what happens when a group of friends, all more or less Bulgarian national celebrities, and most of whom were partisans fighting the Nazis in World War II, decide to protest the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968.
I was expecting some sort of secret offensive against the Soviet Army, with code words and midnight rendezvous (rendezvoux?), but instead I got a very serious literary work about the dangers of bucking the Soviet (and Warsaw Pact) system. And I enjoyed it immensely.
August 28, 2012
Un bon bouquin qui mêle la bizarrerie à l'espionnage avec une bonne morale qui pique à la fin. Sympa, ça vaut un 3,5 que j'arrondis à 4 ;p
September 13, 2023
"Nothing moves us greatly, that's the heart of the problem. We pay textbook attention to our lives. We treat our bowel-moving and our lovemaking as if they were punctuation. We embrace our children with parenthesis. We package whatever bits and pieces of self-knowledge we come by, as I'm doing now, in corrugated metaphors."
- Robert Littell, The October Circle
Published in 1975, this is one of Littell's earliest novels. October Circle focuses on August 1968 during the period when Russia and other Eastern Block countries invaded Czechoslovakia after Dubček's liberalization reforms. Seven friends, members of the October Circle, are horrified at what has become of Communism in Bulgaria and the degradation of communism over the years and decide they need to take action.
This is a story of friendship, ideals, history, and community. Similar to how John le Carré experimented with non-espionage fiction before and after he found success with The Spy Who Came In from the Cold (but it all mined a similar vein of Cold War and Post Cold War Britian and Europe), Robert Littell's books seemed to largely revolve around the binary stars of espionage and Russia. His first great novel was The Defection of A.J. Lewinter which hold a similar place to The Spy Who Came In from the Cold inside Littell's work.
While this would rarely find its way into any Littell fan's top 5 list, it is still bold and shows an early sign of Littell's literary flair. His stories are compelling. His language is energetic. His narrative has a push that drives the reader into its traps and climaxes. He might not be at the same level as Le Carre, but he is definitely playing on the same stage and holds his own.
- Robert Littell, The October Circle
Published in 1975, this is one of Littell's earliest novels. October Circle focuses on August 1968 during the period when Russia and other Eastern Block countries invaded Czechoslovakia after Dubček's liberalization reforms. Seven friends, members of the October Circle, are horrified at what has become of Communism in Bulgaria and the degradation of communism over the years and decide they need to take action.
This is a story of friendship, ideals, history, and community. Similar to how John le Carré experimented with non-espionage fiction before and after he found success with The Spy Who Came In from the Cold (but it all mined a similar vein of Cold War and Post Cold War Britian and Europe), Robert Littell's books seemed to largely revolve around the binary stars of espionage and Russia. His first great novel was The Defection of A.J. Lewinter which hold a similar place to The Spy Who Came In from the Cold inside Littell's work.
While this would rarely find its way into any Littell fan's top 5 list, it is still bold and shows an early sign of Littell's literary flair. His stories are compelling. His language is energetic. His narrative has a push that drives the reader into its traps and climaxes. He might not be at the same level as Le Carre, but he is definitely playing on the same stage and holds his own.
May 30, 2021
This book takes place in 1968 during the Soviet crackdown of Czechoslovakia and is set in Bulgaria. The book features of cast of eccentric characters who fought against the Germans and have gone on to some professional fame within Bulgaria. The plot starts out a bit slowly but the tension really builds.
September 12, 2018
I read a book by Littell that was fantastic. And I can't make myself stop reading him. So far nothing has measured up.
This one aspires to something. I'm not sure what. But it's a thriller. First it has to thrill.
This one aspires to something. I'm not sure what. But it's a thriller. First it has to thrill.
December 27, 2019
Des personnages attachants dont les petites histoires racontent la Grande.
September 18, 2021
Robert Littell's, The October Circle is set mostly in Sofia, Bulgaria, in the days immediately preceding and following Operation Danube, a joint invasion of Czechoslovakia by five Warsaw Pact countries including Bulgaria on the night of 20–21 August 1968. The circle is a gathering of personages of some cultural renown, achievers, entertainers, artists, war heroes, who have formed a cabal of political dissidents (albeit a nearly benign dissent). The author gives most of them pseudo-cryptonyms: The Rabbit, The Racer, The Magician, The Dwarf, The Flag Holder, The American.
As the events of Operation Danube unfold, their dissent becomes much less benign and culminates when the son of The Flag Bearer is injured during the invasion.
The October Circle is an engrossing and thoughtful insight into life in a police state. "All political parties have the same line," the Racer reminds her. " 'You've never had it so good, and the best is yet to come.' "
As the events of Operation Danube unfold, their dissent becomes much less benign and culminates when the son of The Flag Bearer is injured during the invasion.
The October Circle is an engrossing and thoughtful insight into life in a police state. "All political parties have the same line," the Racer reminds her. " 'You've never had it so good, and the best is yet to come.' "
November 30, 2009
The book's structure was atypical for a spy novel. There's no well-defined goal (e.g., prevent terrorist attack at Super Bowl), there aren't well-defined bad guys, but even so, the book really works. It's an interesting story with good historical detail and well fleshed out characters. My skepticism gave way to enjoyment. Plus, I love unsatisfying endings and this one was definitely that.
April 28, 2019
Un fin un peu étrange mais un livre qu'on n'arrive pas à lâcher.
April 20, 2016
Une œuvre originale de Littell, qui utilise humour et absurde pour servir son propos...
January 29, 2017
Bulgarian spy story
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews